One-way check valve



Jan. 11, 1955 o. M. MOE v2,699,124

ONE-WAY CHECK VALVE Filed Aug. 20, 1952 y Wm wA @www United States Patent O ONE-WAY CHECK VALVEI Oliver M. Moe, St. Paul, Minn.

Application August 20, 1952, Serial No. 305,369

4 Claims. (Cl. 103-228) This invention relates to a one way safety check valve, and provides a valve of novel construction which will, under the application of a very slight amount of pressure, close to prevent the back-flow of liuid therethrough. The valve has particular utility in connection with surgical operations where certain portions of a surgical patients body are post-operatively drained of fluids which may accumulate in the area of the body on which the operation was performed. More specifically, the valve has particular utility for use in conjunction with a suction pump apparatus for post-operative drainage of the chest cavity of a person who has been subjected to chest surgery.

lt is customary in chest surgery, before'the surgicalI incision has been closed, to ailx a drainage tube or tubes within the chest cavity so that any fluids which may postoperatively accumulate within the patients chest may be pumped out. Such pumping is frequently continued for from three to` six days following the surgical operation. The negative pressure applied on the pump is very slight (from five to twenty-seven centimeters of water), but is sucient to withdraw through the drainage tubes fluids which might otherwise dangerously accumulate in the patients chest. Pumps used for such purposes are now well-known to the surgical profession, but, prior to the present invention, there have been certain diillculties and dangers involved in their use. Among such dangers there was the likelihood that the pump might, for one reason or another, have stopped functioning at some time during the period it was being used on a patient, whereupon the negative pressure applied upon the chest cavity would have been destroyed, and, instead, the vacuum within the chest cavity of the patient would draw back into that cavity, through the drainage tube, air and possibly impure or contamined iluids or mucous matter, with great danger of post-operative infection, blood clots, etc. There was also the likelihood that air which might re-enter the chest cavity would cause the collapse of the patients lung, in certain types of operation.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a check valve whereby, if the pump should cease to operate, the drainage tube will be automatically and quickly closed to prevent any back-flow of any lluid into the chest of the patient. As will be understood from the fact that the pump applies only from five to twenty-seven centimeters of negative pressure, the valve of the present invention is extremely sensitive in that it will close when such negative pressure is no longer applied.

It should be understood that although the description of this invention has been related principally to chest surgery, the valve also has great utility in connection with surgical operations on various other parts of the human body, and, also, has utility in other fields where a particularly sensitive check valve is desired.

Referring now to the drawings:

Figure l is a side elevational view of the valve of this invention, in cross section.

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of the valve.

Figure 3 is a cross sectional view, along line 3-3 of Figure l.

The valve of the present invention comprises, rst, hollow cylinder 2, preferably made of transparent, heat resistant glass. The ends of said cylinder 2 are provided with corks 3 and 3a, which may conveniently be made of rubber. Said corks fit snugly within cylinder 2 to provide an air tight closure thereof. Cork 3a is provided 8 with vertical bore 4, through which extends tubular fitting ice member 5. The upper central portion of member 5 is provided with threads 6 and the lower central portion of member 5 is provided with shoulder 7. Said member 5 is of a diameter which will llt snugly within bore 4, so that an air tight connection will be obtained. Strap 8 is interposed between shoulder 7 and the bottom of cork 3a. Said strap 8 is made in U shape and is mounted on member 5 with its arms depending vertically, parallel to the side walls of cylinder 2. Said strap 8 may conveniently be made from stainless steel. Nut 9 is threaded on portion 6 of' member 5, and, as said nut is tightened, shoulder 7 will be drawn up to hold strap 8 in fixed position, as shown. Bar 10a is mounted by screws 11 and 11a in horizontal position between the depending arms of strap 8. Bar 10 is likewise mounted by screw 11b and a fourth screw, not shown. As illustrated, said bars are circular in cross section, and that is preferred. However, such bars could also be rectilinear in cross section. Flexible tube 12 is slipped over the lower end portion of member 5 and is held thereon by tie member 13. Flexible tube 12 may be conveniently made from latex rubber. i have found that ordinary penrose tubing such as is sold in surgical supply houses is satisfactory and desirable for use as tube 12 in my valve, although other types of tubing, as hereinafter described, may also be used. Said tube extends downwardly and in the particular embodiment shown, lies over and against peripheral portions of bars 10 and 10a, in the manner shown particularly in Figure l; that is, tube 12 lies against the left hand side of bar 10, and against the right hand side of bar 10a, in Figure l.

The opposite side walls 12a and 12b of tube 12 are held ilush against each other by knurled screws 14 and 15 which are threaded into bars 10 and 10a: see Figure 3. When my valve is being prepared for use, screws 14 and 15 are tightened suillciently so that the side walls of tube 12 will be flush against each other in the absence of any negative pressure in area 19, hereinafter identified. Screws 14 and 15 are fitted with washers 16 and 17 which conform to the curvature of bars 10 and 10a and thus serve to pinch together the longitudinal edge portions of tube 12 to bring the side walls 12a and 12b thereof into Contact. The lower end of tube 12 is allowed to remain depending freely within cylinder 2.

Cork 3 is provided with bore 18 through which the fluid drawn through tube 12 will drain into a larger drainage jar, not shown.

In use of my device in conjunction with a surgical pump, the pump is alllxed so as to apply negative pressure on the drainage jar, above mentioned. Tube 20 is then run from said drainage jar to bore 18 in cork 3, so that the pump will create a negative pressure within area 19 in cylinder 2. The drainage tube or tubes affixed to the surgical patients chest are then run from said patients chest and alllxed to the upper end of member 5. Thus, as the pump operates, the negative pressure will serve to draw the iluid from the surgical patients chest, through the drainage tubes, through my valve and into the drainage jar. As long as there is negative pressure within area 19, tube 12 will remain open and allow the passage of fluid through tube 12. However, should such negative pressure within area 19 be destroyed, tube 12 will collapse and close to prevent the leakage of air or other lluid or liquid back upwardly into the patients chest cavity.

In the particular embodiment of valve shown in the accompanying drawing, the principal closing action occurs in the portion of tube 12 lying between bars 10 and 10a, and also at the portion of tube 12 lying against the periphery of said bars. The tube may not close completely at its upper and lower ends.

When the negative pressure in area 19 is destroyed, after the valve has been in use, a quantity of iluid matter will frequently be trapped in tube 12, between bars 10 and 10a. This provides a means for checking to make certain that the valve is not leaking, for if the tube is not completely closed at the points where it lies against bars 10 and 10a, air bubbles may be observed progressing upwardly through tube 12.

What I claim is:

l. A check valve for use in an apparatus for pumping fluid, said apparatus including a suction pump, said valve comprising a sealed chamber and a exible tube disposed within said sealed chamber; a ilow line extending from said iiuid to said sealed chamber; said exible tube being in connection with said How line to receive a discharge of tiuid therefrom, means being provided within said sealed chamber for festooning of said flexible tube, said suction pump being in operating connection with said sealed chamber to maintain negative pressure therein and to draw quantities of said uid through said flow line and through said tlexible tube, said iiexible tube being of a construction to provide for its assuming a collapsed crosssection in the absence of negative pressure in said sealed chamber.

2. A check valve for use in an apparatus for pumping uid, said apparatus including a suction pump, said valve comprising a exible tube, a sealed chamber, a plurality of bar members, means for suspending said bar members horizontally within said sealed chamber, a tiow line extending from said iiuid to said sealed chamber, said ilexible tube being connected to said ow line, disposed within said sealed chamber and draped over a peripheral portion of each of said bar members, said suction pump being in operating connection with said sealed chamber to maintain negative pressure therein and to draw quantities of said uid through said flow line and through said exible tube, said flexible tube being of a construction to provide for its assuming a collapsed cross-section in the absence of negative pressure in said sealed chamber.

3. The check valve of claim 1 in which means is provided for pinching together opposed side walls of said ilexible tube.

4. A check valve for use in an apparatus for pumping uid, said apparatus including a suction pump, said valve comprising a sealed chamber provided with an intake port and an outlet port, a flexible tube, at least one bar member suspended within said sealed chamber, a tlow line extending from said fluid to said inlet port, said exible tube being disposed within said sealed chamber and connected to said inlet port to receive a ow of uid therefrom, a portion of the length of said flexible tube being supported by at least one bar member, said suction pump being in operating connection with said outlet port to maintain negative pressure in said sealed chamber and to draw quantities of said iluid through said ow line, through said flexible tube and out said outlet port, said exible tube being of a construction to provide for its assuming a collapsed cross-section in the absence of negative pressure in said sealed chamber.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,240,979 Byers May 6, 1941 

